JEDDAH, 26 March 2003 — Saudi Telecom Company is cutting mobile phone charges by as much as 43 percent in a bid to increase revenue. The new charges will be effective from April 1.
The company said that charges for inter-city calls by land phones would be cut to a maximum of 50 halalas and a minimum of 20 halalas per minute during peak hours.
“The company will cut charges for calls from land phones to mobiles to 50 halalas per minute instead of 80 halalas during peak hours. In off-peak hours, the rate will be 40 halalas per minute instead of 50 halalas,” STC said in a statement.
STC will charge 50 halalas per minute for inter-city calls for distances exceeding 200 km during peak hours and 25 halalas in off-peak hours. The rate for inter-city calls for distances less than 200 km will be 20 halalas per minute in peak hours and 10 halalas in off-peak hours.
Charges for mobile calls have been reduced by 37.5 percent from 80 halalas per minute to 50 halalas in peak hours and from 50 to 40 halalas in off-peak hours.
The company said new concessions would be available to those who subscribe to “Golden Bouquet” and “Silver Bouquet” mobile phone cards. The Golden Bouquet cardholders will receive 400 minutes of free calls in place of 280 minutes in addition to a 41.66 reduction in charges from 60 to 35 halalas at all times after the free calls.
The Silver Bouquet cardholders will receive 100 minutes of free calls instead of 80 minutes and charges will be reduced 42.85 percent from 70 to 40 halalas at all times.
Saudi Telecom claimed that by introducing the new discounts, mobile phone charges in the Kingdom would become the lowest in the Middle East and Gulf.
Last month, Saudi Telecom Company cut telephone charges for Internet use by 25 percent. Subscribers have to pay a monthly fee of SR10, however, to take advantage of the reduction.
The Kingdom, with a population of 22 million, has about 600,000 Internet subscribers and some 1.5 million users. Up to 70 percent of users are not regular Internet subscribers but use the service occasionally through widely available pre-paid cards.
STC has launched a new digital subscriber line (DSL) service for Internet users. The service offers high speed, convenient, secure and affordable means for voice, data and video transmission. DSL technology enables subscribers to receive or make phone calls without disconnecting the computer from the Internet.
